Last round-up of overlooked gems of 2019
Another bunch of releases I loved in 2019 that you may have overlooked
André Bratten - Pax Americana
Norwegian artist with an understated and impeccably produced six-track release comprising the most tasteful Electronica that ventures into Bass, Ambient and Dub Techno. Faultless.
East Of Oceans - Neverlasting Love
With Neverlasting Love Ambientmeister Brock Van Wey pays tribute to his Rave roots with three tracks that deliver a quintessential 90s flavour while basking in the glory of today's cutting edge production processes. Really catchy melodies too.
T E S T P R E S S - BLTRS021
What an extraordinary release this was! Two guys from Aberdeen (in Scotland) turning two average American Rap tunes into the finest, breezy summery hits, each built on a lovely thumping House beat.
Donnacha Costello - Constant Bearing, Decreasing Range
Like most of his work, the Irishman's new album was a steady grower, eventually gripping tight. Constant Bearing, Decreasing Range comprised long, building drones, rhythms without drums and treated guitars. Simply delightful.
Special Request - Offworld
Paul Woolford was a busy bee in 2019 with several releases. Offworld was my favourite by a long way. As he asked, what if Jam & Lewis signed to Metroplex?
... you get 80s soul meets Detroit electro Metroplex
.
Karen Marks - Cold Cafe
Australian label Efficient Space were responsible for bringing together the very rare few tracks Karen Marks managed to capture in her extremely short recording career. Cold Cafe was originally from 1981.
Sebastian Gandera - Contre-Sens
Contre-Sens is the second posthumous collection of work by French composer Éric Morin, again released by Australian label Efficient Space, this time presented as two very listenable mixes, that would have fitted very nicely on cassette tape. Melodious piano coupled with quality samples and fine electronic doodling makes for a fine listen.
Fred und Luna - Im Tanzrausch
Fred und Luna is not a crazy German duo but a chap called Rainer Buchmüller and in Im Tanzrausch he gave us four helluva catchy tracks in a Krautrock-Electronica-Tribal stylee, and they're all excellent.
nthng - Shine
The anonymous Dutch producer has given us plenty of quality Trance-informed Techno over the last few years but only hinted at the more Ambient side of his repertoire, so with Shine he delivered four tracks of understated Dub Techno and Ambient.
MMMD - Egoismo
I reviewed Egoismo and listened to it a lot as a result of that. Its dark and funereal vibe made for perfect bedtime listening.